지금 이시간에 한국에서는 대통령을 뽑기위한 유권자들의 투표가 한창진행되고 있다.
누가 될것인가? 이번에는 보수를 지향하는 여성후보와 진보를 지향하는 남성후보간의 대결이라서 더 큰 관심과 세계의 이목을 집중시키는것 같다.
수요일 실시되고 있는 대통령 선거에서 사상최초로 여성대통령을 탄생시킬것인가에 대한 관심이 더 흥미를 자아내게 하고 있는것 같다. 이는 남성이 주로 활동하는 사회에서 크나큰 변화일수 있으며, 한국사회에서 지금까지 여성사회 참여도는 남녀평등이 거의 지켜지지 않고 있는 회교국가보다 조금 앞서 있을뿐인 한국으로서는 예측하지 못한 변화를 가져오고 있는 셈이다.
선거결과를 점치는것은 아직은 속단인것 같다. 얼마전만 해도 여성후보인 박근혜가 여론조사에서 앞섰으나, 최근에는 진보성향인 무소속의 안철수 후보가 사퇴하면서 반사이익을 얻은
반대당 문재인 후보가 바짝 뒤쫒아 앞서거니 뒷서거니 하고 있기 때문이다.
여성은 그들의 남편에 순종해야 한다는 유교사상이 강하게 사회저변에 깊게 깔려 있는 한국사회에서, 여성대통령을 탄생시킨다는것은 과히 혁명적이라 할수 있겠다.
한국은 7년전까지만 해도 부모로부터 재상상속을 받는데 차별을 받아 왔었고, 직장에서 남녀간의 봉급차이도 산업화된 국가중에서 가장 격차가 많았던 국가 였었다.
전문가들의 해석에 의하면 대통령 선거는 남자와 여자에 대한 문제와 관련된 국민투표가 아닌, 국가경제 정책과 특히 준전시상태에 있는 이북과의 관계정립에 대한 두후보간의 정책에 중점을 두고 투표를 해야 할것이라고 분석했다."
박, 문 두후보는 직장에서 여성의 차별화를 줄이겠다는 공약을 내세우고 있지만, 16년간 의회생활을 한 박후보는 실제로 이문제에 대해 실적을 쌓은적은 없는것으로 분석되고 있다.
박근혜후보는 한국사람들의 눈에는, 여권주의자가 아닌 전통적인 카리스마를 갖인 사람으로 묘사되고 있다. 그녀의 아버지 박정희 대통령은 1961년 군사쿠테타를 통하여 정권을 잡고, 이후 18년간 한국을 통치해 왔던 아버지 밑에서 권력이 무엇인지를 겪었으며, 그녀는 미혼으로, 아버지를 암살하려던 괴한의 총알이 엉뚱하게도 옆에 있던 어머니를 관통 사망케 함으로서 국모역활을 그때부터 해오면서 국가일에 참여하게 됐었다.
두후보간에 누가 당선되든 대북관계는, 현 이명박 정부의 보수노선을 떠나 대화를 통한 관계개선을 위해 많이 완화 시킬것으로 보고 있다.
역대 대통령들이 친인척들의 권력남용에서 오는 부정을 원천적으로 막을수 있다는점에 많은 호응을 얻고 있는것 같다. "나는 결혼을 하지 않았기 때문에, 배우자나 아이들이 없기에 그들이 권력을 이용하여 부정을 저지를 요소가 원천적으로 존재하지 않기에 유권자들로 부터 호응이 좋은점이다. 나는 남은 생애를 국가와 결혼한것으로 믿고, 국민들을 위해 봉사하겠다"라는 점을 강조하는게 어필 되는것 같다.
보험원으로 종사하고 있는 Esther Kim씨는 설명 하기를 우리식구들은 박정희 전대통령을 하늘처럼 여기고 있다. 모두가 그분의 딸인 박근혜후보를 지지하고 있다. 내 숙부님은 문재인 후보를 빨갱이라고 지칭한다. 내가 만약에 문후보를 지지한다면 숙부는 나보고도 빨갱이라고 몰아부칠분이다 라고 분위기를 설명하기도 한다.
암튼 좋은 대통령을 선출하여, 국가를 더 부흥시키고, 북한을 대화의 창구로 끌어내여, 한민족이 함께 사이좋게 살수 있고, 국민들, 측히 젊은이들이 남북을 세계여러나라를 여행하듯, 누구의 간섭이나 재제없이 여행할수 있는 그런 나라를 만드는 초석을 다지는, 역사에 남을 대통령이 나왔으면 하는 바램이다.
그녀의 슬로건이 귀에 많이 익다. "준비된 여성 대통령" 기왕이면 현실로 나타났으면 좋겠다.
그녀의 슬로건이 귀에 많이 익다. "준비된 여성 대통령" 기왕이면 현실로 나타났으면 좋겠다.
[대선 현장 속으로]
박근혜 후보 ‘당선 확실’ 
함께 투표하는
굳은표정의 민주통합당 지도부 
한복 곱게 입고…
‘미수다’ 라리사
아이유 트레이닝복 투표패션
투표 마친 안철수
투표장에 나타난 이효리
‘우리 투표했어요!’In ‘Madame Park,’ S. Korea sees its first potential female leader
By ,
The outcome of the presidential election is hardly clinched: Conservative Park Geun-hye — known to her supporters as Madame Park — must hold off liberal Moon Jae-in, who in recent weeks has slashed Park’s lead in polls from several percentage points to nearly zero.
But a Park victory would represent a major symbolic breakthrough in a region
underpinned by Confucianism, a Chinese-born philosophy that says women should be
obedient to their husbands. Until seven years ago, South Korean women did not
have equal inheritance rights. South Korea’s wage gap between men and women is
the widest among fully industrialized countries.
This presidential election, according to most analysts, is not a referendum on gender issues. Voters have judged the two leading candidates mostly on their economic agendas, and to a lesser extent on their strategies in dealing with North Korea. Moon and Park have outlined competing policies to help women in the workplace, but in her 16 years as a legislator, Park showed no particular passion for women’s issues.
Park is viewed by South Koreans not as a feminist but as a traditional power figure. Her father, Park Chung-hee, gained power in a 1961 military coup and ruled the country for 18 years. Park Geun-hye, who has never married, served briefly as the nation’s first lady after her mother was killed in an assassination attempt that missed its real target, her father.
If she becomes president, Park could help normalize the idea of women holding positions of power, opening the door for others at universities, in the corporate world or in government. But some gender studies experts here say her rise would offer few applicable examples for women about how to break Korea’s glass ceiling. The greatest lesson might be a dispiriting one: If you want to become a female leader, it helps if you’re the child of a president.
“Most accomplished South Korean women started from the ground level and have worked their way up while facing discrimination,” said Kim Hyun-young, a professor of gender studies at Kookmin University in Seoul. “Park is a different case because she reached her current position thanks to her father’s political glory.”
Park’s campaign team has tried in recent weeks to emphasize her qualifications as a “fully prepared female president,” as one widely distributed poster reads. The message comes at a time when, despite the gender gap, Koreans increasingly see gender equality as a national priority. In a 2010 Pew Research Center poll, 93 percent of South Koreans said women should have equal rights and 71 percent said more changes were still needed.
Koreans young and old can rattle off the female virtues traditionally held in high esteem here. Women are viewed as disciplined, competent and skilled at managing money, a responsibility they undertake in both traditional and modern households.
This presidential election, according to most analysts, is not a referendum on gender issues. Voters have judged the two leading candidates mostly on their economic agendas, and to a lesser extent on their strategies in dealing with North Korea. Moon and Park have outlined competing policies to help women in the workplace, but in her 16 years as a legislator, Park showed no particular passion for women’s issues.
Park is viewed by South Koreans not as a feminist but as a traditional power figure. Her father, Park Chung-hee, gained power in a 1961 military coup and ruled the country for 18 years. Park Geun-hye, who has never married, served briefly as the nation’s first lady after her mother was killed in an assassination attempt that missed its real target, her father.
If she becomes president, Park could help normalize the idea of women holding positions of power, opening the door for others at universities, in the corporate world or in government. But some gender studies experts here say her rise would offer few applicable examples for women about how to break Korea’s glass ceiling. The greatest lesson might be a dispiriting one: If you want to become a female leader, it helps if you’re the child of a president.
“Most accomplished South Korean women started from the ground level and have worked their way up while facing discrimination,” said Kim Hyun-young, a professor of gender studies at Kookmin University in Seoul. “Park is a different case because she reached her current position thanks to her father’s political glory.”
Park’s campaign team has tried in recent weeks to emphasize her qualifications as a “fully prepared female president,” as one widely distributed poster reads. The message comes at a time when, despite the gender gap, Koreans increasingly see gender equality as a national priority. In a 2010 Pew Research Center poll, 93 percent of South Koreans said women should have equal rights and 71 percent said more changes were still needed.
Koreans young and old can rattle off the female virtues traditionally held in high esteem here. Women are viewed as disciplined, competent and skilled at managing money, a responsibility they undertake in both traditional and modern households.
Polarized South Korea could elect its first female president
Park Geun-hye, conservative daughter of the 1961 coup leader, is a polarizing force in South Korea's presidential election.
South Korean presidential candidate Park Geun-hye campaigns in Suwon, south of Seoul. She could become the country's first female president. (Jung Yeon-jejung, AFP/Getty Images / December 18, 2012)
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SEOUL — Park Geun-hye has been in the public eye since she was 9 years old, when her father took control of South Korea in a 1961 coup.
Half a century later, Park herself is a powerful political figure. In voting Wednesday, she stands a good chance of becoming South Korea's first female president. Polls suggest her race with Moon Jae-in, a silver-haired labor lawyer, is neck and neck.
Some critics call Park, now 60, the "ice queen" for her lack of visible emotion in public. Elegant and composed, she never married — something that Koreans like because there is no spouse or children who can dip their fingers in the public till.
Moon was arrested and expelled from a university for a protest against Park's father and later served as chief of staff to the left-of-center former President Roh Moo-hyun. But the election is less about Moon's qualifications than the polarizing figure of Park.
To some extent, the election is a referendum on the divisive legacy of her father, Park Chung-hee. He is credited with the rapid industrialization that turned South Korea into one of the world's wealthiest countries. But he also suspended the constitution and arrested and tortured student protesters. His security services tried to kill his opponent, Kim Dae-jung, who later became president and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his rapprochement with North Korea.
"I hate her so much that I have no choice but to vote for Moon," said Lee Sang-gun, a 47-year-old magazine distributor who, as a university student, participated in pro-democracy demonstrations against the dictatorship of Park's father. In his view, electing Park would be a step backward. "I feel this is a very critical time for Korean democracy," Lee said.
In September, Park Geun-hye apologized for human rights violations committed during her father's rule. "Behind the stellar growth were sacrifices by workers who suffered under a repressive labor environment," she said. "I believe that it is an unchanging value of democracy that ends cannot justify the means in politics."
Despite the ideological overtones, the campaign issues are mostly prosaic matters of jobs, the economy and social services. Moon has attacked Park as being too close to the chaebol, the huge conglomerates that dominate South Korea's economy.
The candidates agree on the need to engage with North Korea, and whoever wins is likely to move away from the hard line adopted by conservative incumbent Lee Myung-bak.
Still, the electorate of this country of 50 million is deeply polarized along ideological and generational lines.
"This is like George W. Bush versus Al Gore. You have conservatives against liberals and the animosity between them is very strong," said Hahm Sung-deuk, a professor of political science at Korea University.
Park has been one of the most visible public figures in South Korea for decades. As a young woman, she interrupted her studies in France in 1974 after her mother was killed by an assassin's bullet aimed at her father. She served as de facto first lady until 1979, when the head of her father's own security service shot and killed him.
She has been in the national assembly since 1998. The first time she ran for president in 2002, she was dismissed as just another in the long tradition of female Asian leaders who were trying to gain power on the coattails of a powerful male relative.
But with a decade more of experience under her belt, Park now is seen as a reassuring conservative, especially among older voters.
Although her campaign has tried to raise the energy level at her appearances with ear-splitting K-pop blaring from the loudspeakers — Park herself even tried a little "Gangnam Style" hand movement at one campaign appearance — the preponderance of gray hair is undeniable.
At a rally on the outskirts of Seoul last week in 15-degree weather, supporters in their 50s and 60s were bundled heavily with red scarves, the color of the ruling New Frontier Party.
"The world powers' leaders are changing, and we need a president who has good judgment on national security issues," said Lee Shin-baek, 64. He had come with friends who were enthusiastically waving red banners.
The night before, a basement-level coffee house was filled with a standing-room-only crowd including university students and professionals in their 40s who had gathered to watch the second of the presidential debates. Whenever Park spoke, they jeered and made catcalls at oversize television monitors.
"For many of the people in my family, they think Park Chung-hee was like a god and, of course, they are all supporting his daughter," said Esther Kim, a 39-year-old insurance company worker.
"My uncle thinks that Moon Jae-in is a communist," she added with a laugh. "I suppose he'll say I'm a communist too if I tell him I'm voting for Moon."
Park had been leading in the polls for most of the campaign, but the withdrawal of a third candidate, Ahn Cheol-soo, who endorsed Moon, has put the candidates almost even. The latest polls, which cannot by law be published in South Korea the week of the election, showed an even split — 45.2% each for Park and Moon, according to political scientist Hahm.
Hahm said the weather might be decisive. Cold is thought to favor Park because young people aren't as politically committed as older voters and are less likely to turn out.
barbara.demick@latimes.com
Special correspondent Jung-yoon Choi contributed to this report.
Half a century later, Park herself is a powerful political figure. In voting Wednesday, she stands a good chance of becoming South Korea's first female president. Polls suggest her race with Moon Jae-in, a silver-haired labor lawyer, is neck and neck.
Some critics call Park, now 60, the "ice queen" for her lack of visible emotion in public. Elegant and composed, she never married — something that Koreans like because there is no spouse or children who can dip their fingers in the public till.
Moon was arrested and expelled from a university for a protest against Park's father and later served as chief of staff to the left-of-center former President Roh Moo-hyun. But the election is less about Moon's qualifications than the polarizing figure of Park.
To some extent, the election is a referendum on the divisive legacy of her father, Park Chung-hee. He is credited with the rapid industrialization that turned South Korea into one of the world's wealthiest countries. But he also suspended the constitution and arrested and tortured student protesters. His security services tried to kill his opponent, Kim Dae-jung, who later became president and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his rapprochement with North Korea.
"I hate her so much that I have no choice but to vote for Moon," said Lee Sang-gun, a 47-year-old magazine distributor who, as a university student, participated in pro-democracy demonstrations against the dictatorship of Park's father. In his view, electing Park would be a step backward. "I feel this is a very critical time for Korean democracy," Lee said.
In September, Park Geun-hye apologized for human rights violations committed during her father's rule. "Behind the stellar growth were sacrifices by workers who suffered under a repressive labor environment," she said. "I believe that it is an unchanging value of democracy that ends cannot justify the means in politics."
Despite the ideological overtones, the campaign issues are mostly prosaic matters of jobs, the economy and social services. Moon has attacked Park as being too close to the chaebol, the huge conglomerates that dominate South Korea's economy.
The candidates agree on the need to engage with North Korea, and whoever wins is likely to move away from the hard line adopted by conservative incumbent Lee Myung-bak.
Still, the electorate of this country of 50 million is deeply polarized along ideological and generational lines.
"This is like George W. Bush versus Al Gore. You have conservatives against liberals and the animosity between them is very strong," said Hahm Sung-deuk, a professor of political science at Korea University.
Park has been one of the most visible public figures in South Korea for decades. As a young woman, she interrupted her studies in France in 1974 after her mother was killed by an assassin's bullet aimed at her father. She served as de facto first lady until 1979, when the head of her father's own security service shot and killed him.
She has been in the national assembly since 1998. The first time she ran for president in 2002, she was dismissed as just another in the long tradition of female Asian leaders who were trying to gain power on the coattails of a powerful male relative.
But with a decade more of experience under her belt, Park now is seen as a reassuring conservative, especially among older voters.
Although her campaign has tried to raise the energy level at her appearances with ear-splitting K-pop blaring from the loudspeakers — Park herself even tried a little "Gangnam Style" hand movement at one campaign appearance — the preponderance of gray hair is undeniable.
At a rally on the outskirts of Seoul last week in 15-degree weather, supporters in their 50s and 60s were bundled heavily with red scarves, the color of the ruling New Frontier Party.
"The world powers' leaders are changing, and we need a president who has good judgment on national security issues," said Lee Shin-baek, 64. He had come with friends who were enthusiastically waving red banners.
The night before, a basement-level coffee house was filled with a standing-room-only crowd including university students and professionals in their 40s who had gathered to watch the second of the presidential debates. Whenever Park spoke, they jeered and made catcalls at oversize television monitors.
"For many of the people in my family, they think Park Chung-hee was like a god and, of course, they are all supporting his daughter," said Esther Kim, a 39-year-old insurance company worker.
"My uncle thinks that Moon Jae-in is a communist," she added with a laugh. "I suppose he'll say I'm a communist too if I tell him I'm voting for Moon."
Park had been leading in the polls for most of the campaign, but the withdrawal of a third candidate, Ahn Cheol-soo, who endorsed Moon, has put the candidates almost even. The latest polls, which cannot by law be published in South Korea the week of the election, showed an even split — 45.2% each for Park and Moon, according to political scientist Hahm.
Hahm said the weather might be decisive. Cold is thought to favor Park because young people aren't as politically committed as older voters and are less likely to turn out.
barbara.demick@latimes.com
Special correspondent Jung-yoon Choi contributed to this report.
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